Key Dem wants end to the NFL's special broadcasting right

The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee introduced a
bill Monday to revoke the NFL's special broadcast television antitrust
exemption.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the
House Judiciary Committee, wants to do away with the
congressionally-created exemption that allows the NFL to negotiate
television contracts on behalf of all of its teams, the first
repercussion sought by a lawmaker since last Friday's expiration of the
collective bargaining agreement between NFL owners and players.

"As
you know, over the weekend the NFL Players Association decertified, the
collective bargaining agreement expired, and the owners of the National
Football League locked out the players, putting the NFL season is at
risk," Conyers said
in a statement.

"Obviously football fans don’t like
this, but this is a much bigger issue than sports. The NFL is a $9
billion a year industry," the veteran Democrat added. "If this lockout
goes on, hundreds of thousands of workers may be laid off, and scores of
local communities could be harmed economically."